LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) Trading Up 0.4% – Time to Buy?

Shares of LPL Financial Holdings Inc. (NASDAQ:LPLA) were up 0.4% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $381.51 and last traded at $380.82. Approximately 243,669 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 62% from the average daily volume of 635,833 shares. The stock had previously closed at $379.46.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on LPLA. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of LPL Financial from $379.00 to $413.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays lifted their price objective on LPL Financial from $389.00 to $414.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on LPL Financial from $397.00 to $405.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group lifted their price target on LPL Financial from $390.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, StockNews.com raised LPL Financial from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $379.17.

LPL Financial Stock Down 2.0 %

The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $348.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $290.33. The company has a current ratio of 2.16, a quick ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.60. The stock has a market cap of $27.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.87.

LPL Financial (NASDAQ:LPLA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The financial services provider reported $4.25 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.01 by $0.24. LPL Financial had a return on equity of 49.41% and a net margin of 8.55%. Equities analysts forecast that LPL Financial Holdings Inc. will post 19.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LPL Financial Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.32%. LPL Financial’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 8.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling at LPL Financial

In other LPL Financial news, Director Aneri Jambusaria sold 305 shares of LPL Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.94, for a total value of $101,241.70. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,920 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,301,204.80. The trade was a 7.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Matthew J. Audette sold 28,777 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.14, for a total transaction of $10,507,633.78. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 13,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,988,907.82. This represents a 67.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of LPL Financial

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in LPL Financial in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of LPL Financial during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of LPL Financial in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in shares of LPL Financial by 45.3% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 138 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. 95.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About LPL Financial

LPL Financial Holdings Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides an integrated platform of brokerage and investment advisory services to independent financial advisors and financial advisors at enterprises in the United States. Its brokerage offerings include variable and fixed annuities, mutual funds, equities, fixed income, alternative investments, retirement and 529 education savings plans, and insurance.